It wasn’t long ago that Mike Wallace was presumed to be the Minnesota Vikings’ top wide receiver. On Sunday, he may be the top threat for the Vikings’ opponent.
Wallace was acquired by the Vikings from Miami in 2015 in exchange for a fifth-round pick. Minnesota had hoped his deep-play ability would give then-second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a much-needed weapon, but Wallace never found his footing in Norv Turner’s offense and posted a career-low 473 receiving yards.
After being released by the Vikings following one disappointing season, Wallace signed on with the Baltimore Ravens and has thrived with quarterback Joe Flacco. He led the team with over 1,000 yards last season and leads them again in 2017, though Wallace is on pace for a more modest 637 yards with an offense that has struggled in the passing game.
“Mike’s always been a speed guy, and Joe can really throw the ball,” said Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards, who was Miami’s linebackers coach when Wallace played for the Dolphins. “I think those two have connected on some big plays, which is something we definitely have to pay attention to this week.
Wallace had just three catches through the season’s first three games but has 12 over the past three weeks. He missed Baltimore’s practice Thursday with a back injury but told the media he intended to play Sunday.
Third-down discrepancy
The Vikings have the league’s top third-down defense, holding teams to just 25 percent on third down.
The Ravens? They are the fifth-worst third-down offense in the NFL at 34.6 percent.
For a Baltimore offense that has struggled mightily in recent weeks, putting themselves in manageable third-down situations will be critical.
“You’ve got to be good on first and second down to try to get them to third and longer,” said Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo. “You don’t want teams getting into third and short, third and manageable. That’s pretty basic football.”
It’s not as if the Vikings have skewed their third-down numbers with a handful of good games. They’ve been consistent. Only one team all season has succeeded at better than a 25 percent clip against the Vikings: New Orleans in Week 1 (36 percent). The other five opponents have all finished below 25 percent on third downs. Even in Minnesota’s losses, they held both the Steelers and Lions to 3-of-13 on third down.
“We bad,” said defensive end Everson Griffen in the best sense of the word. “Anytime we get to rush we’re going to be bad. You can’t give us too many shots. We’ve got that confidence, we’ve got that swag, and we’re not going to let anything interfere with that.”
Ravens memories
Considering they’ve only met twice since 2005, the Vikings and Ravens have developed a nice inter-conference rivalry.
The Vikings were 5-0 when the teams met in 2009, and Minnesota held a 27-10 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, but Baltimore stormed back with three touchdowns in less than five minutes to take a 31-30 lead.
Vikings quarterback Brett Favre mounted a go-ahead field goal drive to put Minnesota in front 33-31, but Baltimore still had one more chance. It came down to a 44-yard field goal attempt by Steven Hauschka, who missed it wide left to give the Vikings the win and a 6-0 start.
That game might have been outdone by the 2013 meeting between the Vikings and Ravens that featured a 42-point fourth quarter. With Minnesota leading 12-7, Baltimore’s Dennis Pitta scored a go-ahead touchdown with 2:05 to go, setting off a wild string of five touchdowns in two minutes.
Toby Gerhart scored on a 41-yard run to give Minnesota the lead. Jacoby Jones returned the ensuing kickoff for a Ravens touchdown. Cordarrelle Patterson converted a catch-and-run 79-yard touchdown to put the Vikings back in front.
Alas, they left too much time for Flacco, who led a final scoring drive that culminated in a Marlon Brown touchdown with four seconds left. The Ravens won 29-26.
“I’ve never played in a snow game like that,” said Sendejo, recalling it on Wednesday.
INJURY REPORT
Sam Bradford (knee), Nick Easton (calf) and Stefon Diggs (groin) were ruled out for Sunday’s game. All three were injured in Week 5 and will miss their second consecutive start.
Michael Floyd (hamstring), Mackensie Alexander (hip), Riley Reiff (ankle) and Tramaine Brock (hamstring) were deemed questionable.
On a positive note for the Vikings, Anthony Barr was cleared from the league’s concussion protocol and is expected to play on Sunday.
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